Kristi Noem, speaking in the Chicago suburb of Lombard on Friday, sharply criticized Illinois officials for what she described as a lack of cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. She claimed that since the beginning of the year, city authorities have approved only 8% of the detainers lodged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the region. A detainer is a request from ICE asking another law enforcement agency to notify them before releasing a suspected immigrant from custody or to hold the individual until ICE can take them into federal detention.
Noem argued that public officials have a duty to prioritize safety and protect residents, asserting that current policies in Illinois fail to meet that standard. Her remarks targeted Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, accusing both of refusing to work with ICE. Many cities and states that limit cooperation with ICE contend that such restrictions encourage immigrants who are victims of or witnesses to crimes to come forward without fear of deportation. Pritzker and Johnson have defended their approaches, maintaining that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility rather than a state or local one.
During her remarks, Noem also alleged that assaults on ICE officers have increased, blaming what she called “pro-sanctuary” policies and rhetoric from political leaders. Illinois Democrats dismissed her statements as political theater designed to stoke fear and division, also accusing her of presenting false statistics. Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García criticized her claims, arguing that most people detained by ICE have no criminal record and that enforcement actions often target working families, students, and even U.S. citizens. He described the enforcement goals as politically driven and rooted in discriminatory immigration policies.
Reid McCollum, chair of the Democratic Party of DuPage County, accused Noem of attacking immigrant communities and undermining the values of inclusion and diversity. He stressed that Illinois thrives because of its diversity and rejected what he described as extremist rhetoric. He called for efforts to create fair and humane immigration laws instead of demonizing immigrants.
The controversy over Illinois’ policies came just as Noem announced a new partnership in Indiana to expand immigrant detention. Dubbed the “Speedway Slammer,” the plan will add 1,000 detention beds for individuals facing deportation under the federal 287(g) program, which delegates certain immigration enforcement powers to local and state agencies. Noem compared the facility to a controversial detention site in the Florida Everglades, which has faced lawsuits and complaints over detainee conditions, allegations that authorities have denied.
The announcement included a social media image from the Department of Homeland Security showing an IndyCar marked with “ICE” racing past a barbed-wire wall. The imagery drew swift backlash, including from officials in the town of Speedway, Indiana, and from IndyCar itself, which said it had not authorized the use of its branding and asked that its intellectual property not be used in connection with the project. The featured number on the car matched that of Pato O’Ward, the only Mexican driver in the series, raising further criticism. O’Ward said the visual association was troubling and not something that made people proud.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun, a Republican, supported the partnership, calling it a necessary measure to uphold the nation’s laws. He emphasized that the state is taking a proactive and cooperative approach to immigration enforcement. The expansion comes after Indiana opened a new immigration court earlier this year to reduce case backlogs and relieve pressure on Chicago’s immigration court system. Federal and state officials are also planning to use Camp Atterbury, a military base in central Indiana, to temporarily house detainees.
Noem’s push for the Speedway Slammer has fueled both political support and fierce criticism, highlighting deep divides over immigration policy in the Midwest. Supporters frame the initiative as a step toward removing dangerous individuals from communities, while opponents view it as a politically motivated effort that risks eroding civil rights and alienating immigrant populations. With the debate over sanctuary policies and federal enforcement intensifying, both Illinois and Indiana have emerged as prominent battlegrounds in the national immigration debate.
